MIUI 9 launches with UI tweaks, smart assitant and split-screen mode

Xiaomi at its event in China today introduced the Mi 5X and Mi AI Speaker. The Chinese device maker also revealed features of its MIUI 9.MIUI is the Xiaomi's Android based software for its smartphones, tablets and TVs. It was Xiaomi's first product, introduced back in 2010, and Xiaomi says seven years later, the ROM is used in 55 languages, 142 countries with 2.8 billion active users.MIUI's previous iteration MIUI 8 got a visual refresh, and with MIUI 9, the focus is on refining the user interface, and adding some new features, along with system optimizations for a fluid experience.Xiaomi says in MIUI 9 the apps will launch quickly than before, thanks to the optimized thread scheduling and CPU acceleration. It is getting a new allocation model, wherein the system prioritizes resources for in-use apps. The haptic feedback has also been improved.

As expected, the multi-window mode is included in MIUI 9, allowing you to run two apps side by side for multi-tasking. The icons has got a visual refresh, and now looks more modern.

MIUI 9 will bring a smart assistant that lets you easily search through apps, notes, images, schedules or any other information you're looking for. There's also a new universal search engine, that lets you find images of a particular person, location, events, expression or photos taken at a specific location.

It also has a new smart app launcher, that suggests apps to launch based on context in your conversation.

Xiaomi says most of the aforementioned features including smart assistant, universal image search and smart app launcher will be limited to MIUI 9 China version. The MIUI 9 will be first rolled out as beta for testing, before the stable build being rolled out to the public. The MIUI China Developer ROM will be released in phases to select devices in August.The first batch of the MIUI 9 China Developer ROM will be released for Xiaomi Mi 6, Mi 5X, and Redmi Note 4X (Qualcomm variant) starting August 11.The second phase will begin August 25, and will be available for Mi MIX, Mi Note 2, Mi 5, Mi 5s, Mi 5s Plus, Mi 5c, Mi Max 2, Mi Max 32G, Mi Max 64G/128G, Mi 4S, Mi 4c, Mi Note Pro, and Redmi 4X. In late September, the MIUI 9 China Developer ROM will be made available for all other Xiaomi and Redmi devices, except the Mi 1/1S and Mi 2A.Details of the Global MIUI 9 will be revealed in the coming weeks.Source 1 | 2Via